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Astrid's POV
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Standing in the open section of the cliff, I hold my hands in the air as Ryu holds his sword in front of him.

"So... What are you doing here?" (Astrid)

"... Returning for a visit." (Ryu)

"A visit, is it?" (Astrid)

"Mm." (Ryu)

"So, if it was a visit, what are you holding onto there?" (Astrid)

As I speak, I lower a hand and point to his left hand, which clutched the charm I had seen.

"... Something I forgot." (Ryu)

"Something you forgot, huh. You're not going to tell me what it is?" (Astrid)

"Why should I?" (Ryu)

"Isn't this the common scene in novels? One character finds another's secret, so they confess, or something like that? That's how it was in the ones I read." (Astrid)

"... What would be the point in telling you?" (Ryu)

"Hmmm. Let's say, I'll let you off for skipping the watch." (Astrid)

"No thanks. Didn't you also skip?" (Ryu)

"Ah. Now that you mention it..." (Astrid)

"Wait, nevermind that. You really aren't going to say anything?" (Astrid)

"Nope." (Ryu)

"You sure? Nothing about, what was it, 'Akari'?" (Astrid)

In response to the name, Ryu finches.

"... You heard me?" (Ryu)

"Barely. Enough to make out the name at the very least." (Astrid)

My words seem to make Ryu hesitate, as if he was contemplating something.

"... You aren't going to let me go?" (Ryu)

"Why should I? I mean, I've already set a magic circle up under you." (Astrid)

In response to my words, the ground beneath him seems to glow a dull purple before several translucent chains come from the ground, binding him.

Ryu gives up resistance instantly, knowing he doesn't have the skill to cut the chains.

"So? Going to say anything now?" (Astrid)

"If I don't?" (Ryu)

"Hmm, you'll probably be locked up for disobeying orders and risking the lives of 54 soldiers." (Astrid)

"Haah." (Ryu)

He lets out a small sigh, showing he has lost his motivation to fight.

"Bare minimum." (Ryu)

"Good enough." (Astrid)

"... I have a younger sister." (Ryu)

"Mhm... Eh? Wait wait wait. You? You have a younger sister?" (Astrid)

He nods his head.

"The leaders of the No-Names had two kids? How did they...? Why didn't we know?" (Astrid)

"They announced my birth, but they easily could've hidden it." (Ryu)

"That's what they did with the other? What the hell! Do we have to find another No-Name?" (Astrid)

In response to my last question, Ryu emits an absurd amount of killing aura.

"You won't touch her." (Ryu)

"O-oh? And if we do?" (Astrid)

"I'll kill you." (Ryu)

As he speaks, his eyes pierce me, almost like a beast's.

"... Fine fine. I get it. I'll tell Captain that we aren't allowed to interact with her." (Astrid)

As quickly as it appeared, the killing sura vanishes, and the tension lifts an invisible weight off my shoulders.

"Before I let you go, is she called Akari?" (Astrid)

"... She is." (Ryu)

"Okay, why were you saying sorry?" (Astrid)

"..." (Ryu)

Silence, huh.

I suppose he was honest with the bare minimum.

With a flick of my wrist, the chains surrounding Ryu evaporate, forming small crystalline chunks in the air, which slowly disappear.

"We're going back to camp." (Astrid)

I start walking back the way we came, and I could hear Ryu chanting [Rise] just before I entered into the thicket of trees that surrounded his cave.

The journey back to camp was quicker than the journey from, but that may have been because we weren't stopped by a pack of firnirs.

It seemed like we had been gone for much longer than we thought, since a new squad was surrounding the camp.

We enter silently, so as not to alert the night watch and make our way to the tent we'd be staying in.

Pushing the entrance of the tent open, we're greeted with Captain, Etsusu and Airiri sitting with the light on.

"So? Why'd you ditch the watch?" (Captain)

"Ah, you see, Ryu was--" (Astrid)

"I ditched, she followed me." (Ryu)

"I see... We'll decide what to do after this is over, so get some rest." (Captain)

"... Eh? Is that it?" (Astrid)

"Well, we kinda guessed it was Ryu's doing, so..." (Airi)

He didn't seem to pay any mind to this comment as he started lying down on the mat he had.

"... I see." (Astrid)

As the silence in the tent hit me, so did the fatigue of the past few days, and as soon as I laid down, sleep took over.

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With light pouring into the tent, my discomfort wakes me, and it takes me a few seconds to gain my bearings.

My eyes practically close themselves at the sun, which beams down straight into the opening of our tent.

After fully waking up, I hear the slight buzz of conversation outside the tent from the other soldiers that had already woken.

It seems like I was the last to wake of our squad, seeing as all the other mats that would have been laid out beside me were now gone.

Having gotten the energy from my sleep, I pack up the tent and head over to the noise.

"Ah, you're finally awake." (Airi)

"Finally?" (Astrid)

"Yeah, finally, we've all been awake for a few hours now." (Airi)

"Why didn't you wake me up then?" (Astrid)

"Hmmm. How should I say it? The way you slept looked way too comfortable? I'd feel slightly guilty for waking you up." (Airi)

"Ahh. Is that so? Then, thank you, Airiri~!" (Astrid)

"You're welcome. Here, have something to eat." (Airi)

"Hm? Ah, the boar from yesterday?" (Astrid)

"Yup, Ryu kept some in ice so it wouldn't go bad." (Airi)

"I see..." (Astrid)

Hearing Ryu's name reminds me of the events from last night, and my indecisiveness in whether to tell Captain or not.

"... You should probably say something." (Airi)

"Eh?" (Astrid)

"From the look on your face, you're probably worrying about whether to say something to someone, right?" (Airi)

"Yeah, I am..." (Astrid)

"Then, you should probably say something." (Airi)

"..." (Astrid)

I'm once again reminded of how scary Airiri's observational skills are. They're basically bordering mind reading.

She's done it before me loads of times, like the one time we were faced with a merchant that had a brilliant poker face.

Airiri managed to read him like a book, and seeing him crumble under her words was something to feast your eyes on.

"Right. Yeah. Yeah, I'll say something. Thanks, Airiri~." (Astrid)

With a smile, she turns away from me and continues handing out food to other soldiers who had just woken up.

I stop watching her and instead look for Captain.

Walking around camp, I spot him on the side that faces the forest just looking at it.

"Captain~! I wanna tell you something!" (Astrid)

Hearing my voice, his attention turns away from the forest and instead, to me.

"Astrid, what's the matter?" (Captain)

His calm response catches me off guard, since I'd expected him to be angry about last night.

"A-ah, well, about last night..." (Astrid)

"We'll talk about punishment when this is finished." (Captain)

"Ah, that too, but there's something else." (Astrid)

"Something else?" (Captain)

"Well, you see..." (Astrid)

I continue talking, outlining the events of last night, including the sudden revelation of Akari, Ryu's sister.

"... Hmm, so they had another." (Captain)

"Seems so, but Ryu seemed adamant in not letting us see her. The killing intent he let out was close to yours." (Astrid)

"I see. Well, when we get back to the city, I'll request for a spy to find someone by that name then." (Captain)

"What are you going to do if they find her?" (Astrid)

"Hmmm... A hostage?" (Captain)

"A hostage? For who?" (Astrid)

"For Ryu. Just incase he goes... Rogue." (Captain)

"I see." (Astrid)

"Well, enough of that, we'll need to get going soon." (Captain)

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Author Notes
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It's done. Another chapter done.

This second (ish) half of the chapter was surprisingly hard to write, and I spent several days trying to figure out what I was going to put after Astrid went to sleep.

Hell, I even figured ending the chapter there. But I didn't, and I persevered, and we got this.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!